Judge in Beirut Blast Probe Issues Warrant for Arrest of Ex-Finance Chief

Judge Tarek Bitar, head of the investigation into last year’s Beirut Port explosion, on Monday issued a warrant for the arrest of former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who failed to show up for questioning. This was the second warrant for the arrest of a Lebanese official connected to the August 4, 2020 explosion – one of the biggest nonnuclear blasts in history. In September, Bitar issued an arrest warrant against ex-Public Works Minister Youssef Finianos, who also repeatedly failed to show for questioning. Despite the warrant, Finianos hasn’t been arrested yet. Khalil, the ex-finance minister, is a senior member of the Shiite Amal movement and an ally of Hizbullah, the powerful Iranian-backed Shiite militia and political party. In response, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah called for Bitar to be ousted, replacing, saying the judge was biased and that his investigation had been politicized. Tomorrow the investigation is to hear from another former public works minister, Ghazi Zeaiter, who is also a senior Amal member and Hizbullah ally. He too is expected to be a no-show. While Bitar has sought to question several Hizbullah allies, including Khalil and Zeaiter, he has so far avoided questioning members of Hizbullah, itself.